When it comes to international threats to our country, the Department of Defense has instituted a Soviet-era alert system to convey to the public the danger of a nuclear conflict. The DEFCON (Defense Readiness Condition) has become, since 1959, an important needle the U.S. President and the Pentagon control to relay any concerns that could ultimately harm the country. From foreign threats, mainly. Should we not also develop such a domestic system to alert the public about any persistent danger to our democracy? Should President Joe Biden not sign a Presidential Executive Order to deploy a DEMCON countdown in order to warn us against any assault on our democracy on the basis of those plotting behind the scenes to establish fascism?
New domestic terrorists are springing up across this country. Whether to protect us from these terrorists, or whether to warn us about the activities of Donald Trump and his acolytes, a DEMCON needle would raise the public awareness about any danger our democratic institutions could face. It might warn us, as well, about any intent based on behavioral patterns. Like the ones on full display by Governors Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg Abbott of Texas.
After all, what is book banning but an assault on democracy?
People who observe and report help us achieve a new layer of security, in addition to the FBI, to protect ourselves from Trumpism.
TRUMPISM DICTATES ACTION
Domestic terrorism, as we all recently witnessed by the shock of the Patriot Front emerging publicly, requires two monitoring systems.
First and foremost is the FBI diligent online monitoring without which we are flying blind in a storm. Second are organizations like Represent.us, and so many others, that work tirelessly to protect our democracy.
Both are needed to assist The White House move the DEMCON needle North or South depending on their political and social observations and analysis. The purpose is to use DEMCON to marshal vast public resources to save our democracy.
People who observe and report help us achieve a new layer of security, in addition to the FBI, to protect ourselves from Trumpism. A DEMCON alert system, just like an Amber alert system, keeps the public fully engaged.
A new DEMCON alert system becomes a wake-up call. Just like a church bell invites people to pray, this new alert system would invite the public to be on the lookout for domestic terrorism.
WE ALL CONTRIBUTE TO SAVE OUR DEMOCRACY
Between the contributions of pro-democracy activist organizations at the political level, the FBI monitoring online the activities of domestic terrorists at the social level, and the general public keeping its eyes peeled, the White House would have access to all the necessary information to protect the country using a DEMCON alert system as a national compass to save us from Trump and his enablers in Congress.
Furthermore, such a new initiative is quite imperative given the last few years of the Trump era. One we still fear because Trumpism remains a threat. We must protect ourselves from this new menace exponentially more harmful to our country than any other modern threat.
Grant you that a Trumpist Republican President, in the future, might eliminate DEMCON, but that’s the point, is it not? To show the public whom can we trust with our democracy.
A new DEMCON alert system becomes a wake-up call. Just like a church bell invites people to pray, this new alert system would invite the public to be on the lookout for domestic terrorism and to report it in a timely fashion.